Travis are coming home again

Dawn Renton

Travis are a band that really don’t need any introduction. First formed in 1990 and with eight albums, 24 singles and numerous gigs under their belts, the Glaswegian four–piece make a welcome return to the music scene after a short absence that seems more like a lifetime.

It’s been three years since they released ‘Where You Stand’ so where have they been?

“It may seem like we disappeared for a while,” laughs Dougie Payne, the band’s bassist. “But we’ve always been around, you just haven’t seen us – the invisible band, that’s us! We started working on the new album as soon as we finished the last tour, so we’ve been quite busy doing that, it’s all go!”

Having previously met in London to record, Travis headed to Berlin – where frontman Fran Healy now calls home – using the city’s Hansa Studios before distributing the album on their own label, Red Telephone Box.

“We just went away and wrote some songs and then regrouped to see what we had. It’s similar to how we recorded ‘The Man Who’. It’s our winning formula that works for us.

“We’ve done something here that we are all really excited about.”

The band hit the road next month for a short tour in support of their latest release ‘Everything At Once’ which hits the shops on April 29, and the band can’t wait to play Scotland once more.

“We’re coming home!” Dougie said. “It’s always that little bit more special playing in Glasgow and all the shows there are just magical as its our hometown.

“We did a couple of shows in London at the start of the year as a bit of a taster for our new stuff and it went down a storm with fans – just as much as our older stuff! It’s always a bit nerve-wracking to play new tracks, because even if you, as a band, think it’s great, there is the chance the fans won’t share that view.

“You’re really putting yourself out there, but thankfully, the latest songs seem to be a hit. The good thing about the new album is that the songs are all short and sharp so you can pack a lot in when it comes to playing live,” Dougie said.

Fans need not worry if they are thinking they might not hear any classic Travis, as Dougie assures as they’ll be making an appearance.

“We need to play some of our earlier music as there are firm favourites that the fans want to hear like ‘Coming Around’, ‘Sing’ and of course ‘Why Does It Always Rain On me?’.

“There will always be cries of “why didn’t you play this?!” or “I didn’t hear my favourite song!” so we try and fit in as much as possible to our sets so that everybody leaves our shows feeling satisfied and we want to give people a good night out.

“We always want to include songs that you can sing along to as there is nothing better than hearing the crowd sing to one of your songs. When they sing the lines back at you, it’s an indescribable feeling, it really makes the hair on the back of your neck stand up.

“Singing is a release for people whether its at gigs or at the football, regardless of where it is, it’s a fantastic sight and sound – it really bonds people.

“We love it as we’re a live band and we can’t wait to hit the road once again. It’s exciting!”

Catch the band as they play Glasgow O2 ABC May 6 and take to the stage at T in the Park on July 9.